The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA West Preliminaries
Meeks secures NCAA Championships spot for No. 18/18 Track & Field on second day of NCAA West Prelims
05.28.2026 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Birdow posts top 400-meter hurdles time while Texas sends eight sprinters and hurdlers to Saturday quarterfinals.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Giavonna Meeks secured a spot in the NCAA Outdoor Championships to highlight a strong second day for No. 18/18 Texas Track & Field at the NCAA West Prelims on Thursday at John McDonnell Field.
Meeks opened the day in the hammer throw by clinching her NCAA Championships berth on her first attempt with a mark of 64.53m (211-8) to finish eighth overall. All three of her throws ranked among the top performances in program history, and Meeks now owns the top 22 hammer throw marks in Texas history.
On the track, three Longhorns advanced to Saturday's 100-meter quarterfinals as Carleta Bernard, Naomi London and Abigail Wolfe each earned automatic qualifying spots. Bernard finished second in heat five with a time of 11.23 seconds, while London clocked a personal-best 11.30 to place third in heat four and Wolfe took third in heat two in 11.33.
In the women's 400 meters, Bayliegh Minor won heat six in 51.46, the fifth-fastest time of the evening, to advance to the quarterfinals. Elise Cooper also moved on after placing third in heat three with a time of 52.20. Ramiah Elliott narrowly missed advancing on time, finishing in 52.29, four-hundredths of a second outside the qualifying mark.
Amelliah Birdow and Anouk Krause-Jentsch finished first and second, respectively, in heat six of the women's 400-meter hurdles to secure spots in Saturday's quarterfinals. Birdow posted the top time of the evening at 55.59, while Krause-Jentsch followed in 56.69. Mackenzie Collins also advanced after recording the top qualifying time mark at 57.43.
Holly Okuku closed out the session for Texas by advancing to Saturday's quarterfinals in the 200 meters, placing second in heat six with a season-best time of 23.12.
Texas also had three competitors in the women's 1500 meters, led by Isabel Conde de Frankenberg, who crossed the line in 4:19.23. Mia Perez finished in 4:24.34, while Elizabeth Pickett posted a time of 4:25.05.
On the men's side, Sam Abati competed in the rain-delayed pole vault that was originally scheduled for Wednesday. He tied for 12th place with a clearance of 5.37m (17-7.25), but lost a jump-off to narrowly miss qualifying for the national meet.
Competition resumes Friday for the men, beginning with Shaiquan Dunn and David Jarolimek in the discus at 1 p.m. Track events begin at 6 p.m. with the 4x100-meter relay.
Schedule for Friday, May 29
1:00 p.m. – Men's Discus First Round (4 Flights)
Top 12 Advance to Eugene
- Flight 1, Position 6: David Jarolimek
- Flight 4, Position 8: Shaiquan Dunn
2:00 p.m. – Men's High Jump First Round (2 Flights)
Top 12 Advance to Eugene
- Flight 2, Position 2: Osawese Agbonkonkon
5:00 p.m. – Men's 4x100m Relay Quarterfinals (3 Heats)
12 Advance: Top 3 Each Heat Plus Next 3 Best Times
- Heat 1, Lane 5
5:40 p.m. – Men's 3000m Steeplechase Quarterfinals (3 Heats)
12 Advance: Top 3 Each Heat Plus Next 3 Best Times
- Heat 3: Hudson Bennett
6:00 p.m. – Men's Triple Jump First Round (4 Flights)
Top 12 Advance to Eugene
- Flight 4, Position 6: Kelsey Daniel
6:15 p.m. – Men's 110m Hurdles Quarterfinals
- Heat 2, Lane 5: Kendrick Smallwood
6:50 p.m. – Men's 400m Quarterfinals
- Heat 1, Lane 2: Logan Popelka
7:25 p.m. – Men's 400m Hurdles Quarterfinals
- Heat 1, Lane 6: Chris Brinkley Jr.
- Heat 3, Lane 6: Kody Blackwood
8:45 p.m. – Men's 4x400m Relay Quarterfinals (3 Heats)
12 Advance: Top 3 Each Heat Plus Next 3 Best Times
- Heat 3, Lane 6
